Deck out your haunt with eerie design elements

Friday

Oct 23, 2009 at 12:01 AMOct 23, 2009 at 11:19 PM

Cody Jackson knows how to decorate a home for maximum fright appeal. The 27-year-old helped design the displays at the Spirit Halloween store in White Oaks Mall, where he works. In terms of decoration sales, Halloween is second only to Christmas, proving that spooky and eerie are more popular than the pastel and fluffy motifs that dominate Easter. And with options ranging from lifesize Michael Myers dolls to zombie babies, Halloween shoppers have a wide range of choices to deck the halls with mayhem.

Dan Naumovich

Cody Jackson knows how to decorate a home for maximum fright appeal. The 27-year-old helped design the displays at the Spirit Halloween store in White Oaks Mall, where he works.

And he knows this: “Halloween is crazy in Springfield,” he said.

The Spirit Halloween store is a temporary outlet set up in the old Linens ’n’ Things store on the mall’s south side. Jackson said the Springfield store is far surpassing the sales totals of similar stores operating in other central Illinois cities.

“We’re killing them all right now,” he said, his choice of words perhaps inspired by the fine selection of plastic of tombstones on display.

In neighborhoods throughout Springfield, homes are being decorated and transformed into elaborate houses of the unholy. Although nationally families are expected to spend about 15 percent less on Halloween this year, according to a GateHouse News Service report, total spending for the holiday is still expected to reach $4.75 billion. In terms of decoration sales, Halloween is second only to Christmas, proving that spooky and eerie are more popular than the pastel and fluffy motifs that dominate Easter.

Keeping up with the Munsters, however, doesn’t require a journey to the dark side — just a quick trip to the mall, where Jackson can introduce you to this fall’s collection of dread-filled decor.

WASN’T THIS MOVIE SET IN ILLINOIS? First impressions are everything, and with a lifelike Michael Myers from the “Halloween” films waiting to greet your visitors, they’ll get the hint and flee in terror. This animated replica of the horror movie favorite slashes his knife like a murderous marionette. Priced at $249.99, Jackson said Spirit Halloween can’t keep him in stock. So beware. You’ll likely cross paths with one soon.

PREFER A LADY’S TOUCH? With a deathly white pallor and blood-red lips, the Midnight Countess is a dead ringer for Queen Elizabeth I ... but even scarier looking. She comes with several prerecorded messages that she delivers with devilish glee. You won’t miss her drift when she invites you to “go out for a bite to eat.”

THE TINY UNDEAD: Sometimes, the scariest things come in small packages. Zombie Babies are about 18 inches tall and make wonderful yard ornaments. The eyes light up on these demonic bundles of evil, and one little guy is even teething on a human hand. How delightful.

WHAT’S COOKING? How about a bubbling cauldron of what looks like freshly plucked eyeballs? It will surely add some spice to the night. The steam from this display adds just the right touch of realism to this witch’s brew. You’ll give your neighbors an extra fright when you tell them you’re a locavore.

THE BODY SHOP: Since they’re likely dead anyway, replace that hanging basket of flowers on the front porch with a screaming severed head. Made of durable PVC, it’s just one of several dismembered body parts available to festoon your home’s exterior.

LOW VISIBILITY: To really enhance your home’s curb appeal, you’ll want to shroud your yard in a heavy veil of fog. Jackson can show you several models of fog machines. Unfortunately, his favorite, which blows bubbles that release mini-clouds of fog when they burst, has been sold out since early in the season.

Down the street in Parkway Point, the Party Tree is also experiencing its busiest time of the year.

“This is our Christmas,” said Sharon Swartz, store manager.

Just as black is always the new black in Halloween fashion, bones never go out of style.

“People like skeletons,” Swartz said, as if there were ever any doubt.

It’s a dead man’s party: The pièce de résistance of the Party Tree’s skeletal collection will greet you as soon as you enter the store. The Fleshless Band is a sextet of instrument-wielding skeletons constructed of latex, with each standing around six feet tall. Even less lifelike than Steven Tyler, these intricately detailed rockers are the ultimate prop for the ghoulishly hip.

At $1,399.99 for the entire ensemble, the Fleshless Band is for serious decorators only.
Even though it’s constructed of all-weather material, it might be better displayed out of reach of pranksters and midnight plunderers.

Swartz said other expensive items — especially the animated and voice-activated freaks, monsters and vampires — are also better suited for indoor use. It’s for this reason that many of the dark holiday’s most fervent followers construct elaborate haunted houses in their garages so trick-or-treaters can still enjoy the frights of their labors.

Both Swartz and Jackson advise people to shop early. Because of the seasonal nature of their merchandise, once an item is sold out, it likely won’t be restocked. And before you know it, trendy homeowners will be storing away the orange and black and decking their homes out in red and green.

Dan Naumovich is a freelance writer and business copywriter. He can be reached at dan@naumo.com.